Creamiest Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

A creamy, tasty mac and cheese recipe that is slow cooker simple. Good enough to make my “in-house mac and cheese expert” go back for seconds and talk about variations we can try with glee in her voice.UPDATE Jan 13, 2013: Newer version available with even less work and just as creamy. Creamy Crock Pot Mac and Cheese with Uncooked Macaroni

This is my third try at this. I was inspired initially by a Trisha Yearwood show on Food Network. Very interesting. Then a Paula Deen recipe. Then many more. I made charts of ratios of cheese and milk to pasta. I listed spices, and I saw cooking times from 2 to 5 hours. Basically, they were all over the place.

I started with the Paula Deen recipe since it seems to be the most popular. I made some changes but mainly it was more of a cut up casserole due to the eggs. My wife had a small serving, but ultimately it was trashed. Taste adequate, texture very wrong. She wanted creamy and cheesy. Nothing else would do.

So I read comments and looked more. I decreased the egg and a few other changes. Still a no go but improving. THE EGG HAD TO GO! Almost everyone had the egg. This is basically the Paula Deen recipe without egg with some simplification.

Rating

This is a 4 or a 5. My wife gave it a 4.5 as it stands. She has plans. See the notes.

Notes: My wife and I both agree with some Cayenne, so I did add that is an option. We will be trying other cheeses with the next batch. Vary the spicing to match your favorite stove top or oven recipe. Add meat. Be creative. I’m thinking some browned Panko bread crumbs and parmesan sprinkled on top at serving.

About crock pots. These can vary in temperature greatly so as they say, “your mileage may vary” in cooking time. I defined the end time as starting to get some browning. This was a little under two hours for me. The Deen recipe is at 3 hours. Can you say burnt?

If you do a variation, please share in the comments.

Start with a pan of hot water over high heat.

Once the water is boiling add 2 cups (about 8 oz) and cook for about 2/3 of the minimum time. Mine said 9 minutes, so I cooked for 6 minutes.

Drain the pasta well and combine in the slow cooker. Mix well. Turn on low.

Stir the pot about 20 minutes into cooking when the butter is melted. Mix very well. Stir again several more times. Just a light stir is good. It’s done when you are getting some browned cheese on the side of the pot and some light browning of some of the pasta on the edge. About 2 hours.

If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated. Especially any recipe that has no rating please. Thank You and have a great day.

Creamiest Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Votes: 19 Rating: 3.79 You:

Rate this recipe!

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The creamiest mac and cheese is now slow cooker simple. Good enough to make my in-house mac and cheese expert go back for seconds.

CoursePasta

CuisineAmerican

Servings

Prep Time

8servings

10minutes

Cook Time

120minutes

Servings

Prep Time

8servings

10minutes

Cook Time

120minutes

Creamiest Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Votes: 19 Rating: 3.79 You:

Rate this recipe!

Print Recipe

The creamiest mac and cheese is now slow cooker simple. Good enough to make my in-house mac and cheese expert go back for seconds.

CoursePasta

CuisineAmerican

Servings

Prep Time

8servings

10minutes

Cook Time

120minutes

Servings

Prep Time

8servings

10minutes

Cook Time

120minutes

Ingredients

2cupspasta

1cupmilk

1/2cupsour cream

2 1/2cupshredded cheeseyour choice

4tablespoonsbutter

10 3/4ozcheddar cheese soup

1/2teaspoonsalt

1/2teaspoonpepper

1/2teaspoondry mustard

1/4teaspooncayenne pepperoptional

Servings: servings

Units:

Instructions

Start with a pan of hot water over high heat. Once the water is boiling add 2 cups (about 8 oz) and cook for about 2/3 of the minimum time. Mine said 9 minutes, so I cooked for 6 minutes.

Drain the pasta well and combine in the slow cooker. Mix well. Turn on low.

Stir the pot about 20 minutes into cooking when the butter is melted. Mix very well. Stir again several more times. Just a light stir is good.

It’s done when you are getting some browned cheese on the side of the pot and some light browning of some of the pasta on the edge. About 2 hours.

Last Updated July 7, 2016

Nutrition Facts

Creamiest Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 352Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18g28%

Saturated Fat 11g55%

Trans Fat 0.3g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Cholesterol 55mg18%

Sodium 677mg28%

Potassium 266mg8%

Total Carbohydrates 34g11%

Dietary Fiber 5g20%

Sugars 3g

Protein 13g26%

Vitamin A16%

Vitamin C0.1%

Calcium23%

Iron8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information are estimates and can vary from your actual results. This is home cooking and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

I just did an experiment this morning working on a new version. I did not precook the pasta and it worked fine. (not the same recipe) This has failed for me before. I think the “but” here seems to be this time I didn’t add the cheese until near the end after the pasta was done.

My previous tries of not precooking were with the cheese going in at the start. I think the cheese way over cooked by the time the pasta was reasonable.

Also I don’t really like using things like the soup in this. That will be gone in the new version.

I used your recipe at our New Years dinner for the family (8 people) and everyone was pleased. Last week I tried the new version and could not get the texture of the noodles quite right, they were gummy- for lack of a better word. Saturday I made this recipe for my daughters Engagement Party (50 folks, 6 x recipe and added 1/2 cup dried noodles per batch when boiling, made 2 batches in each crock pot, 2 hrs cook time) and it turned out perfect! Everyone there raved over the mac and cheese and wanted your recipe. The only thing I did not double per crock pot was the cayenne, because I knew some would think it too spicy. It was wonderful to spend a few minutes boiling noodles and dumping a few things in the crock pots and not having to worry about it for 2 hours. I used the crock pot liners that reynolds has out now and cleanup was a breeze. Thanks for the work you put into your recipes!!

Delicious. I quadrupled the recipe for my son’s 3rd birthday party. It was ALL GONE!! Everyone loved it. NO EGGS!! :) Thanks for the recipe. I’m making this for my daughter’s 1st birthday in March now. :)

I had the best lobster Mac and Cheese at a restaurant in Santa Monica, CA where I live and keep dreaming about it! What do you think Dr. Dan? I have a feeling you have cooked lobster tails before! Please email me your updated version (minus the cheddar cheese soup) and if you devise a lobster-Mac version! Patricia Maria Go LA Kings!

Recipe sounds good. I plan to make it for our family reunion this upcoming weekend. I was looking for a recipe that I could make in a crock pot and put together in our room at the lodge for a carry in meal. I will be using gluten free macaroni. Do you have any “gluten free” recipes?

I don’t cook gluten free but most of my recipes are meat… And gluten free products can frequently be substituted as you know in many of the other recipes. I have no experience with gluten free pasta and think I should try it just for experience some day. Thanks for the note. DrDan

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